Doctoral Dissertation Research: Light and Governance in the Russian Arctic

俄罗斯最近在北极沿海城镇启动了基础设施和社会经济再发展项目。这些国家主导的治理举措是在企业能源基础设施扩张的过程中出现的，改变了当地的做法。这项研究探讨了“光制度”的概念-在北极极端季节变化的更广泛背景下，围绕使用和获得人造光的权力和身份配置。这项工作的成果将有助于北极可持续发展的两个方面：偏远地区正在进行的向可再生能源的过渡以及与能源安全，经济多样化和交通连通性相关的城市可持续发展问题。该项目需要进行人种学和档案研究，包括在Tiksi的实地考察和在萨哈共和国首都雅库茨克为期两个月的研究。工作将集中在三个人群：国家官员，能源公司的员工，以及当地居民和游客。民族志数据将通过照片和日记征集、访谈、协作绘图、政策分析、基于对象的研究和自动民族志来收集。研究将导致论文和同行评审的出版物。更广泛的影响将通过一个合作的博物馆展览和在公共场所展示研究成果来实现。这个奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为值得通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估来支持。

Russia has recently initiated infrastructural and socio-economic re-development projects in Arctic coastal towns. These state-led governance initiatives have occurred amidst the expansion of corporate energy infrastructure, transforming local practices. This research explores the concept of a “light regime”—the configurations of power and identity surrounding use of and access to artificial light within the broader context of extreme seasonal variation in the Arctic. Results from this work will contribute to two dimensions of Arctic sustainability: on-going transitions to renewable energy sources in remote locations and questions of urban sustainability related to energy security, economic diversification, and transportation connectivity.This project entails ethnographic and archival research, including fieldwork in Tiksi and two months of research in Yakutsk, the capital of the Sakha Republic. Work will focus on three populations: state officials, employees of energy companies, and local residents and visitors. Ethnographic data will be collected through photo and diary solicitations, interviews, collaborative mapping, policy analysis, object-based research, and auto-ethnography. Research will result in a dissertation and peer-reviewed publications. Broader impacts will be achieved through a collaborative museum exhibit and presentation of research findings in public venues.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.